Today is
Tuesday June 09, 2026
LONGVIEW – An aviation student from Korea, who was raised in Fiji and attends school in East Texas, has been awarded a scholarship. Cecilia Kim, who attends LeTourneau University in Longview, has been selected to receive the American Airlines 5K scholarship. She also gets an all-expenses-paid trip to receive the scholarship at the Women in Aviation conference in Reno, Nevada, March 22-24. To qualify for the scholarship, Kim had to be a member of WIA and submit an application that described how the scholarship would help her achieve her career goals to become a professional aviator.
LONGVIEW – The entertainment lineup for Longview’s July 4 Fireworks and Freedom Celebration has been announced. Sammy Kershaw will headline the outdoor free-to-the-public concert to be held just before the big fireworks show. The Ray Johnston Band is also scheduled to perform. The entertainment will be at the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Complex on Wednesday, July 4th.
PALESTINE – There is a new head of the Palestine Economic Development Corporation. The Palestine city council named Gayle Cooper to the post at a meeting last week. Cooper comes to Palestine from Winnsboro, where she was the director of the Winnsboro Economic Development Corporation. Before coming to Texas, Cooper worked with several economic development organizations in Metro Phoenix, including the City of Goodyear and the Greater Yuma Arizona Economic Development Corporation. Corporation.
TYLER – Voters head to the polls from 7:00 to 7:00 on Tuesday for voting in the primary election. The election will include contested races for U.S. and state representatives, judges, district attorney, district clerk, commissioner and justices of the peace. Most of the contested races will be decided in the primary election. Smith County voters will be able to cast their ballots at any of the county’s 34 polling locations. You can go to https://www.smith-county.com/Government/Departments/Elections/CurrentElection.aspx to find a list of the polling locations. You can also find sample ballots at the same link. There was an increase in early voting with nearly 13,000 votes cast. This is up nearly 10% from the 21014 total. You can follow the returns Tuesday night KTBB as well as KTBB-dot com.
TYLER – A Henderson County man is jailed in Smith County for making a terroristic threat. Tyler James McGill, 20, of Brownsboro, was arrested shortly after 2:00 Monday morning at a south Tyler apartment. The arrest stemmed from a Snap Chap video that showed two firearms and the text which said, “coming to a school near you.” Also in the video was a Whitehouse-Troup road sign. Friends said they thought McGill was joking. Sheriff Larry Smith said his office takes any potential threat seriously and will act accordingly. McGill was booked into the Smith county jail under a $25,000 bond.
WHITEHOUSE – Two persons have received minor injuries in a three vehicle accident involving a Whitehouse school bus. It happened around 7:15 Monday morning on Farm Road 346 at County Road 15. The bus had stopped, preparing to turn, and a car was stopped behind the bus. A second car didn’t see the vehicles had stopped and hit the stopped car which in turn hit the bus. A child on the bus was taken to a Tyler hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the car that had been stopped was taken to a Tyler hospital in stable condition. The Department of public Safety reports the accident remains under investigation.
TYLER – UT Health East Texas has announced Vicki Briggs has been appointed chief executive officer of UT Health Tyler. Briggs brings a 30-year healthcare career to Tyler. UT Health Tyler was formerly East Texas Medical Center. Ardent Health Services and The University of Texas Health Science Center Tyler, UT Health Northeast, completed the purchase of ETMC on March 1. The purchase forms the 10-hospital UT Health East Texas system.
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) — A Texas man has been arrested in a hit-and-run accident that killed a man in Kansas in November. Great Bend police say Rodney Campbell Jr., 58, of Anderson County, Texas was arrested Thursday in Texas. The Hays Post reports Campbell Jr. is accused of hitting 65-year-old James Zager with his car in November while Zager was walking across a street in Great Bend, Kansas. The driver then fled the scene. The Barton County District Court issued an arrest warrant for Campbell on Wednesday for failure to stop or remain at the scene of the accident.
TYLER – Minor injuries were reported in a car-train accident in Tyler Sunday afternoon. It occurred around 3:30 at the railroad crossing at Oakwood Street and Spring Avenue. A witness told officers the car had already entered onto to the tracks when the crossing arms came down. The driver tried to make a U-turn, but was hit by the slow moving train. In the car was a woman and three children ages 3, 9 and 10. The investigation into the accident is continuing.
TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the week of February 26. Weather conditions have had a significant impact on work schedules so some schedules have not changed from the previous week. Schedules are always subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues. Slow down and pay attention when traveling through work zones.
In Smith County, the contractor for the Lindale Relief Route is planning daily lane closures on Farm Road 16 at Toll 49, and on Interstate Highway 20 at Toll 49. Expect lane closures on FM 16 from 9:00am to 4:00pm., Monday-Friday, February 26 – March 2. Various I-20 lane closures will also be conducted from 9:00am to 4:00pm, Monday – Thursday, February 26 – March 1, and from 9:00am to noon, on Friday, March 2. The schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions. Local law enforcement will be assisting with work zone traffic control. Read the rest of this entry »
LIBERTY CITY – One person has been arrested in connection with a Gregg County stabbing. It happened around 4:15 Friday morning on Smallwood Road in the Liberty City area. Joshua Hyatt, 30, of Tatum, was found in the road with stab wounds. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. Sheriff’s department spokesman Josh Tubb based on what Wyatt and a witness told them, Hyatt and Carter Riley Brown, 20, of Gladewater, got into an argument over a woman. The argument led to the stabbing. Brown has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He’s being held in the Gregg County Jail on a $75,000 bond.
TYLER – A Tyler business was robbed Sunday morning. It was the Valero Gas Station on the Old Jacksonville Highway at Rice Road. The man, who had a handgun, entered the store around 4:30. He took an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register and fled on foot. He is described as a black male wearing blue pants, a grey jacket and red hat. No injuries were reported.
TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Department is looking for four persons in connection with numerous stolen vehicles in Smith, Cherokee, Titus and Henderson counties. They are identified as Jacob Spivey, Frank Meadows, Ashley Hoag and Adam Leal. If you know where anyone of them may be found, you are asked to contact the Smith County Sheriff’s Office. They say Jacob Spivey (pictured) is running from officers since he knows there is a warrant out for his arrest. He is known to stay in several locations in Tyler as well as Bullard. Authorities say Frank Meadows is a known drug dealer in the area. They feel he may be with Ashley Hoag, who has also been named in a felony warrant. As far as Adam Leal, investigators say he is known to stay in the North Tyler Area. You can see pictures of all of the suspects on the Smith County Sheriff Office’s web page.
GUN BARREL CITY – Two persons have been arrested on drug charges in Gun Barrel City. Concerned residents reported what they believed to be illegal drug activity. On Friday, the police served a search warrant at a residence on Tara Trace in the WillowWood subdivision. The two persons were arrested after officers found narcotics, paraphernalia, and weapons. The suspects names have not been released.
LONGVIEW – Crime dropped in Longview last year. The report was presented to the city council last week. According to the numbers presented by Police Chief Mike Bishop, violent crime dropped by 21.7%, property crime fell by 26.8% and the overall Part I crimes decreased by 26.4%. Murder dropped 50%, with 7 reported last year and 14 were reported in 2016. The only area not to see a decrease was in forcible rape, with 60 reported in Longview last year. The same number was recorded in 2016.